A Renewal Called Repentance

Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, the Rabbi of the Western Wall, writes about the Jewish concept of repentance in light of the Book of Jonah, read on Yom Kippur. He explains why the prophet Jonah struggled to accept the repentance of the people of Nineveh, linking this to the human difficulty in believing in change and forgiveness. The article highlights the revolutionary nature of the idea of repentance in relation to the ancient world and invites readers to embrace faith in the ability to change.

Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, the Rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites, writes a commentary article for Yom Kippur on the Jewish concept of repentance. The article is based on the Book of Jonah, read in synagogues on Yom Kippur, and analyzes the prophet Jonah's resistance to his mission to bring the people of Nineveh to repentance. Rabbi Rabinowitz explains that in the ancient world, a rigid perception of sin and punishment prevailed, with no room for compassion or hope. The Jewish idea of repentance, he argues, heralded to humanity that an evil deed is not a person's final word, and that at any moment one can choose anew and make amends. He contends that Jonah did not flee from God but from the idea that people can change for the better, linking this to the universal human difficulty in believing in change. The article concludes with a call to embrace the power of repentance as hope for creating a better reality, especially in the current year.

A Renewal Called Repentance